Press Play with Madeleine Brand: California case: free speech v. abortion rightsCrisis pregnancy centers are generally run by pro-life groups that aim to convince pregnant women not to get abortions. A California law requires that employees tell their clients that the state offers free and low-cost abortions and other family planning services. Now a group of these centers is arguing that the law violates their freedom of speech.

UnFictionalUnbelievably true stories of chance encounters that changed the world. A pair of mail-order shoes that led to the film The Outsiders. A secret road to a California paradise. The day LA and smog first met. Stories that will stick in your head like a memory. It’s UnFictional, hosted by Bob Carlson.

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To the PointA weekly reality-check on the issues Americans care about most. Host Warren Olney draws on his decades of experience to explore the people and issues shaping – and disrupting - our world. How did everything change so fast? Where are we headed? The conversations are informal, edgy and always informative. If Warren's asking, you want to know the answer.

Budget Crisis Threatens the University of California

Will LA Teachers make salary concessions to save jobs? Is the University of California backing away from its primary mission? Why has Governor Schwarzenegger replaced the state nursing board? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, China's preparing to
celebrate 60 years of “harmony,” but first the Tibetans, now the Uighurs, are challenging the authority of the central government.

FROM THIS EPISODE

LA Teachers may have agreed to take less money in order to save jobs. Professors at the University of California say proposed budget cuts favor of private interests at the expense of the public mission. Plus, another official resigns from the state Nursing Board. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, China's preparing to celebrate 60 years of “harmony,” but first the Tibetans, now the Uighurs, are challenging the authority of the central government. Can 56 very different cultural and linguistic groups continue to get along?

Last week, Prime Minister Hu Jintao rushed home from the G-8 summit to deal with massive unrest and deadly violence in what's called the Shin-jung Uighur Autonomous Region in China's far west. For the first time, the government announced that paramilitary police opened fire, killing two Uighurs and injuring a third.

The Los Angeles Unified School District laid off more than 2000 teachers on the first of this month. Now it appears their jobs may be saved. But, because it's taken so long for a deal to be made, it may be too late for some who've found other employment. Howard Blume covers education for the LA Times.

The University of California is considered America's leading public institution of higher learning, but cutbacks in state funding may put that that status at risk. At UCLA, the Labor Center will close; deans have been told to cut courses, majors and numbers of faculty by 10 to 20%. In-state tuition is already almost $9000 and it could go higher. Freshman enrollment for this fall may drop by 500 students. The nine other campuses face comparable assaults on the university's basic mission of higher education for California's high school graduates. Tomorrow, University President Mark Yudof will present the Board of Regents with a plan for an $813 million reduction.